Union female athlete of the month – March 2016

UNION, NJ — Senior Kaitlyn McTernan is a ranked runner with the Union High School track and field team. McTernan represented all female athletes in Union on Sunday, Feb. 7, at a National Girls and Women in Sports Day luncheon hosted by Seton Hall University. Later in February, McTernan led the Farmers with fourth- and ninth-place finishes in the 1600m and 3200m events, respectively, at NJ sectionals. Her PR in the 1600m this season is 5:17.

How was Union’s performance at sectionals?
“Our team performance was pretty good. I qualified in the mile to go to states, which is on Friday,” Feb. 19, “and our 4×4 team almost qualified, but we placed seventh and you have to come in the top six. Our shot-putter qualified, as well, too.” Junior thrower Lauren Buchanan, with a mark of 30 feet and 8 inches in the shot put event, finished in sixth place at sections, giving her a spot in the state meet.

What was it like representing Union at Seton Hall?
“It was definitely a great experience. My coach was there, my parents came, and they gave out awards, and it was basically recognizing women in sports. I thought it was really cool, because I’ve always been in sports and it was great to be recognized and help Union for that.”

Are there any women in sports you look up to?
“I watch college softball a lot. I really like Jackie Traina, she’s a pitcher for Alabama. When I was younger, I played softball a lot, so I always looked up to her.”

Are there college athletes from Union that you’ve been following?
“Haisha Bisiolu and Jen Edobi. They run in college track, and I got the opportunity to run with them. They’re amazing runners, and I really look up to them. Jen Edobi runs for Vanderbilt, and Haisha runs for University of Cincinnati.”

A lot of runners have their own, unique way of preparing for meets. Do you do anything different before a race?
“During cross country season, my coach and one of my other teammates started this thing where we went to Dairy Queen the day before a meet and got a blizzard, and almost every time we got a blizzard, it resulted in a PR. So that’s like a weird little tradition that we have.”
“The day of a race, I just try to relax all day, listen to the music and stuff like that, to get ready. But that’s my pre-race thing.”

What are your college plans?
“I am going to try and run in college. I haven’t decided what school I’m going to run at, yet. I’m debating between American University, James Madison and University of Delaware.”

If you could be any animal, what would you be?
“Definitely a cheetah. I run track, and they’re super fast.”